1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is devices which display for viewing decorative cups and saucers, or plates or baskets singularly wherein the article or articles to be displayed are placed in a prominent viewing position.
2. Description of Related Art
Devices to prominently display a plate or photograph, plaque, and the like have been known for a number of years and range in construction from rubber covered wire frames designed primarily to hold a plate nearly vertical to more complicated devices, such as those that consist of a base with a lateral position adjusting upright back rest whereby the circular rim of a plate is positioned at the front end of the base and supported nearly vertically by a back rest. For example, Gibson illustrates in U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,734, a adjustable display holder having a horizontal base having two parallel legs and a back rest protruding upward at an angle slightly off vertical, the back rest adapted to be placed in one of four different lateral positions relative to the front portion of the base.
Anderson, in later Pat. No. 4,343,450, discloses a plate holder having substantially the same type of base and back rest as Gibson, however, Anderson provides a different type of back rest catch mechanism which permits a larger number of base-back rest adjustments varying the lateral distance from the front part of the base to the location of the back rest.
Further, in a related patent, Dalbo in Pat. No. 4,483,505, details a foldable stand adapted to hold a card (such as Bingo) for easy viewing wherein a similar two legged base is utilized with a pivotal back rest. However, the pivotal back rest is permanently attached at the front portion of the base, rather than being attached distal from the base front portion to the legs.
While the above inventions described very ably display plates and saucers, there is a need to display both decorative cups and saucers together, or singularly, as desired. This is especially so where a person has matching sets of china.
Accordingly, it would be useful to have a display device which is universal in that it will display plates and saucers singularly, including shallow and deep dishes, or display cups singularly, or display both cups and plates or saucers simultaneously.